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Humanistic psychology | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Origins And Third Force —
Humanistic psychology.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
In the mid-1950s, Abraham Maslow stood before a field of psychology dominated by two powerful theories and declared that something was missing. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis focused on unconscious desires and mental conflicts, while B.F. Skinner's behaviorism reduced human action to conditioned reflexes and environmental stimuli. These approaches treated people as either sick patients or biological machines, ignoring the conscious experience of being human. Maslow argued that these schools provided only half the picture, describing what he called the "sick half" of psychology. He believed there must be another way to understand the healthy aspects of human nature.
This new perspective emerged from practical pressures during World War II. Military psychologists faced more patients than they had time or resources to treat individually. They began experimenting with group therapy methods to help soldiers cope with trauma and stress. Eric Berne later developed Transactional Analysis from these pragmatic beginnings, creating one of the most influential forms of popular psychology in the 1960s and 1970s. The movement gained momentum when key figures gathered at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, for an invitational conference in November 1964. This meeting brought together founding figures like Carl Rogers, Rollo May, James Bugental, and Abraham Maslow alongside academic profiles including Gordon Allport, George Kelly, and Clark Moustakas.
The conference represented a historic moment for the field. Participants sought to formulate a new vision for psychology that considered a more complete image of the person than behaviorism or Freudian theory offered. Robert Knapp served as chairman while Henry Murray delivered the keynote address. The Association for Humanistic Psychology sponsored the event, the Hazen Foundation provided financing, and Wesleyan University hosted the gathering. This gathering marked the formal beginning of what would become known as the "third force" in psychology.
Core Philosophical Principles
James Bugental articulated five fundamental postulates in an article published in 1964 that defined the humanistic perspective on consciousness and existence. These principles stated that human beings supersede the sum of their parts and cannot be reduced to components. They exist within a uniquely human context as well as a cosmic ecology. Human beings are aware and conscious of being aware, always maintaining awareness of themselves in relation to other people.
The fourth principle emphasized that humans possess the ability to make choices and therefore bear responsibility for those decisions. The fifth principle declared that human beings are intentional, aim at goals, cause future events, and seek meaning, value, and creativity. These ideas formed the foundation for understanding how all individuals could reach their highest potential. Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs pyramid to illustrate this progression, showing that physiological needs must be met before safety, then love, self-esteem, and finally self-actualization.
Only about one percent of people actually achieved self-actualization according to Maslow's calculations. Those who did became self-aware, caring, wise, and focused on broader problems rather than personal conflicts. Carl Rogers built upon this theory by arguing that self-actualization requires a growth-promoting climate where individuals can be their genuine selves while receiving acceptance from others. This approach acknowledged spiritual aspiration as an integral part of the psyche and linked the field to transpersonal psychology.
When was humanistic psychology formally established as a movement?
Humanistic psychology was formally established during an invitational conference held in November 1964 at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. This gathering marked the beginning of what became known as the third force in psychology.
Who founded humanistic psychology and when did they develop their key theories?
Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs theory between 1908 and 1970 while Carl Rogers emerged as another founding figure from 1902 to 1987. These figures created foundational concepts including self-actualization and person-centered therapy.
What are the five fundamental postulates of humanistic psychology articulated by James Bugental?
James Bugental published these principles in 1964 stating that humans supersede their parts exist within unique contexts maintain awareness of themselves make choices with responsibility and seek meaning through intentionality.
How does humanistic psychology differ from behaviorism and psychoanalysis?
Behaviorism reduces human action to conditioned reflexes while psychoanalysis focuses on unconscious desires and mental conflicts. Humanistic psychology instead considers the conscious experience of being human and seeks to understand healthy aspects of nature rather than treating people as sick patients or biological machines.
When did humanistic psychologists begin exploring political change and social reform?
Members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology embarked on three-year efforts starting in 1978 to explore how principles could further positive social and political change. This included holding a 12-Hour Political Party in San Francisco during 1980 where nearly 1,400 attendees discussed presentations by non-traditional thinkers.
Abraham Maslow (1908, 1970) developed the hierarchy of needs theory and wrote Toward A Psychology of Being to explain how healthy individuals function. He believed only 1% of people reached self-actualization but argued that everyone possessed the capacity for it. Carl Rogers (1902, 1987) emerged as another founding figure who emphasized developmental processes leading to healthier personality functioning. Rogers coined the term "actualizing tendency" which eventually led Maslow to study self-actualization as one of humanity's fundamental needs.
Rollo May contributed existential psychology acknowledging human choice and the tragic aspects of existence. Otto Rank broke with Freud in the mid-1920s and strongly influenced Rogers' work. Clark Moustakas joined these early figures in seeking to found a professional association dedicated to psychology focused on uniquely human issues like hope, love, creativity, nature, being, becoming, individuality, and meaning. These psychologists were interested in concrete understanding of human existence demanded by post-industrial society.
Other important contributors included Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Melanie Klein, Harry Stack Sullivan, and Sigmund Freud himself. The movement drew inspiration from philosophical traditions including phenomenology and existentialism represented by thinkers like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre. Eastern philosophy and Judeo-Christian philosophies of personalism also played central roles through figures such as Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev, Emmanuel Mounier, Gabriel Marcel, Denis de Rougemont, Jacques Maritain, Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas, Max Scheler, and Karol Wojtyla.
Therapeutic Approaches And Methods
Carl Rogers developed person-centered therapy which is non-directive and centers on the client's capacity for self-direction and understanding their own development. Therapists listen without judgment, allowing clients to come to insights independently while ensuring all feelings are considered with an air of acceptance and warmth. Active listening becomes essential during these sessions where therapists engage with genuine empathy and unconditional positive regard. This approach creates a relationship where clients feel safe enough to share genuine feelings that may not be forced upon them.
Other approaches include depth therapy concepts, holistic health practices, encounter groups, sensitivity training, marital and family therapies, body work, and Medard Boss's existential psychotherapy. Marshall Rosenberg, Carl Rogers' student, emphasized empathy through Nonviolent Communication. Self-help methods emerged including co-counseling based purely on helping oneself, Re-evaluation Counselling by Harvey Jackins, and Focusing developed by Eugene Gendlin. Humanistic Psychodrama began developing since the 1980s under Hans-Werner Gessmann.
Humanistic psychologists generally do not believe mainstream scientific research will fully understand human consciousness and behavior because traditional methods derive from physical sciences rather than studying complexities of human meaning-making. They favor letting methods be derived from subject matter instead of uncritically adopting natural science techniques. This approach advocates methodological pluralism where qualitative approaches suit lived experience like grief while quantitative methods apply when phenomena can be counted without leveling them.
Specific humanistic research methods evolved in decades following movement formation including phenomenological descriptive methods modified from
Research Methodology Debates
Edmund Husserl's work. Amedeo Giorgi developed these approaches for psychology while scholars like Stephen Krippner explored methodology in postmodernity. The field maintains interest in special forms of human science investigation balancing holistic focus with reductionistic tendencies.
In 1978 members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology embarked on three-year efforts exploring how principles could further positive social and political change. This included holding a "12-Hour Political Party" in San Francisco during 1980 where nearly 1,400 attendees discussed presentations by non-traditional thinkers like Ecotopia author Ernest Callenbach, Aquarian Conspiracy author Marilyn Ferguson, Person/Planet author Theodore Roszak, and New Age Politics author Mark Satin. George Leonard drafted a manifesto proposing ideas such as moving to slow-growth or no-growth economies, decentralizing society, and teaching emotional competencies for humane public policies.
Psychologist Kenneth Lux and economist Mark A. Lutz called for new economics based on humanistic psychology rather than utilitarianism in 1979. California state legislator John Vasconcellos published A Liberating Vision calling for integration of liberal politics and psychological insight from that same year. The New World Alliance attempted injecting humanistic-psychology ideas into political thinking between 1979 and 1983 with sponsors including Vasconcellos and Carl Rogers. Willis Harman argued throughout the 1980s and 1990s that significant social change requires consciousness transformation.
In the 21st century figures like Edmund Bourne, Joanna Macy, Gabor Maté, and Marshall
Social Change And Politics
Rosenberg continued applying psychological insights to social issues. Humanistic psychology became main theoretical source of humanistic social work producing deep reforms in modern practice through values like creativity, self-development, security, resilience, accountability, flexibility, complexity, empathy, personal growth, empowerment, and spirituality.